“Apple is an iconic consumer electronics company with a string of massively successful products, but it could also become the world’s largest mobile processor company by the end of the year, according to a study due to be released by In-Stat later this week,” Agam Shah reports for IDG News Service.

“Apple was the world’s second largest mobile processor company behind Intel in 2011, benefitting from growing smartphone and tablet shipments and a meltdown in the PC market, according to In-Stat,” Shah reports. “If that trend holds and Apple’s iPhone and iPad shipments continue to grow at an unprecedented pace, Apple will likely overtake Intel as the world’s largest mobile processor company by the end of this year.”

Shah reports, “Apple does not have a large gap to overcome. The company last year shipped about 176 million processors in devices such as the iPad and iPhone, representing a 13.5 percent market share. Intel took the top spot with 181 million processors shipping in mobile products such as laptops, a 13.9 percent market share.”